Personally - I like the UI of all the wallet and payment methods as well as how trivial it is to dispute and how smooth the process is.

It’s something all providers should strive to be.

But raw perks relative to others? It’s… standard. At best.

Amex has way better benefits for sure.

Although Apple gave me a HUGE amount on my card - like so much that if I were to max it out there’s no way I could afford to pay it back. Helps me credit though, so I’m not complaining.

edit: Oh and the auto-transfer to savings is sexy as well as how trivial it is to add or withdraw.

Likely two reasons, I think.

One - the EU, as someone else said, will likely force Apple sooner rather than later.

Two - since there isn’t a formal well defined RCS standard that you just pick up and apply then this means they can write their own or interpret it in their favor and make Google adapt to them.